This invention is a revolutionary system for protection of small buildings, mobile homes, and the like against winds of hurricane force.
Hurricanes do most of their worst damage to houses and other smaller buildings. Hurricanes, like earthquakes, attack structures mainly from the sides. But there are significant differences between the stresses exerted by short-lived ground motions and those created by the relentless pressure of hurricane-force winds. The wind shoves a building repeatedly, sometimes pushing its frame out of alignment or even lifting it off its foundation. It jabs at nooks and crannies along the surface, nibbling at weak points until it finds a way in.
When a high wind blows directly against the side of a typical wood frame house, it exerts a high or positive pressure on that side (the windward side) and creates a vacuum pressure area on the opposite side (the leeward side). Thus, walls and windows on the windward side of the house are in danger of being pushed in, while on the leeward side they may be sucked right off the house. And the moment the wind breaks in through a window or door, the sudden pressure buildup inside the house can cause doors and other weak places on the leeward side to pop right out. The wind then combines with rain to destroy the interior of the house and its contents.
Heretofore, the standard approach to hurricane protection has been to strengthen a structure in numerous ways, including the use of enough nails, stiffener boards, metal straps, storm shutters, shatter resistant windows, and foundation bolts. These measures are only a partial solution. They do not prevent a building from being buffeted by wind.
Mobile homes are especially vulnerable to hurricane winds. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 destroyed virtually every mobile home in Homestead, Florida. Hurricane force winds exert two different force components on a mobile home. First, the structure takes a pounding from direct wind contact against a flat surface. Second, the wind is forced around, up, and over the structure creating a vacuum pressure on the opposite side. These two components, together with the circumstance that most mobile homes have open space underneath and very little structural integrity, create a dangerous situation. Standard hurricane protection in the case of mobile homes is the use of anchors and tie-down cables spaced around the structure.
The most relevant prior art that I know of is known as the Hunker Down System. It is an external structure including a cable-reinforced net that covers the roof of a building, home, or mobile home. The net is anchored to metal beams that stand vertically against the walls and surround the building. Steel cables tie the beams together and also anchor them to the ground. The net over the roof increases the roof's wind resistance. Shingles or tiles will not easily fly away in the wind. The beams and cables that surround the building reinforce its outer walls against wind. Reinforcing the building from the outside and anchoring it to the ground gives the building greater structural integrity.